House of Lords - House of Lords Staff Handbook

House of Lords Staff Handbook Seventeenth Edition

CHAPTER 11: CAREER DEVELOPMENT

11.1 Heads of Offices, others with management responsibilities and staff of the Human Resources Office are ready at all times to discuss with staff, if they so wish, their progress and career prospects.

Posting

11.2. Posting and training will take account of the needs, preference, assessed potential, and experience of each member of staff; the over-riding consideration, however, must be the needs of the House. During the early part of their service, staff at junior levels will be moved sufficiently frequently within the range of posts appropriate to their grade to provide experience of the work of the House, to develop their knowledge and skills and help establish their aptitudes and preferences. At more senior levels posting will be arranged wherever possible to take full advantage of the particular abilities of the member of staff and to continue the process of developing ability and expanding experience. Career moves, except for Clerks, will be arranged by the Human Resources Office in discussion with the relevant Heads of Office and following consultation with the staff concerned. Career moves for Clerks are arranged by the Clerk of the Parliaments.

11.3. Some offices are more specialised than others and it is desirable that staff should spend fairly long periods in them before being posted elsewhere. Nevertheless the aim will still be to ensure that staff in these areas gain sufficient experience of general Parliamentary work before they have reached a level at which a change of duties would be difficult. Suitable staff who show a strong inclination towards specialist work and who have the necessary qualifications will, whenever possible, be given the chance of developing their careers in suitable posts.

11.4. A new learning and development evaluation form has been issued. Part I should be completed in conjunction with Line Managers prior to training to agree learning and development objectives. Following training Part II should be used to evaluate the efficacy of training. A copy of the completed form should then be sent to the Human Resources Office for evaluation purposes.

11.5. Separate arrangements are made for posting of catering grades taking account of requirements for career development.

Specialist and professional training

11.6. Specialist training will also be provided. Such training is normally provided on the recommendation of the Head of Office. Training needs should be assessed at least annually in the context of staff appraisals, or where relevant, the Autumn Development Reviews and by reference to the Grade Training Profile. The Training Bulletin, published by the Human Resources Office, should be consulted for appropriate courses. Training costs fall on office budgets and appropriate provision should be made by budget holders.

11.6a.Professional training in the House of Lords is defined as external training over an extended period of time where, once completed, a member of staff's career within the House is enhanced. Examples of professional training include finance qualifications, pensions, internal audit, archivists, librarians and procurement. In the Refreshment Department, professional skills cover NVQs in catering. Masters degrees in Business Administration (MBAs) are also defined as professional training. Study leave arrangements should be agreed as appropriate with the Head of Office at the outset of the training, when training objectives should also be agreed.

Career breaks

11.7. Staff wishing to take extended unpaid leave under the career break scheme in order to be able to combine their career with domestic commitments or for any other reason should consult their Head of Office or the Human Resources Office. The policy on career breaks appears at Appendix E.

Job sharing etc.

11.8. Staff wishing to move to part-time work or to a job share should consult their Head of Office or the Human Resources Office. In some cases the circumstances of the House of Lords may limit the degree of flexibility which is possible, but the Director of Human Resources will give sympathetic consideration to each case on its merits. Requests by those with parental responsibilities to work flexibly are considered separately (see paragraph 6.24).

Family relatives and married or unmarried partners at work

11.9. Where staff of the House are family relatives or enter into relationships with each other which transcend friendship, such as marriage or cohabitation, such relationships are primarily a private matter for the members of staff concerned. The Clerk of the Parliaments does however have a duty to ensure that the existence of such a relationship between employees does not adversely affect his duties to protect the rights of other members of staff and to maintain the propriety of the administration of the House. Where relatives or partners work in offices far removed from each other, or are at different ends of a management chain, there may be nothing at issue. However, where relatives or partners work in the same office or department, or are closely associated in management, the potential for such an adverse effect is increased. This is particularly likely in the House of Lords, given its relatively small size, where staff can normally expect to work closely at some stage in their careers with most other staff and relatives or partners may expect to have closer professional dealings with each other than in other, larger organisations. Where adverse effects are likely, adjustments will need to be made to prevent the administration of the House being compromised.

11.10. In assessing whether such an adjustment is necessary, the following general factors, among others, will need to be considered:

the potential to harm the good name of the House or to compromise the integrity of its financial management or administration. For example, relatives or partners should not together have a majority role in taking decisions involving the expenditure of large sums of money or the management of important projects; and they should not both sit on the same recruitment or promotion board;

the potential to infringe the rights of other staff. For example, subordinate staff should not be put in a position where their rights to proper consideration of grievances or disciplinary matters are compromised as a result of the relationship between relatives or partners in positions of management over them; nor should staff be managed by one relative or partner who in turn reports to the other relative or partner;

the potential to compromise the positions of the relatives or partners themselves. For example, one relative or partner should not have any part in making annual performance assessments on the other or have any specific influence on their pay.

11.11. The nature of the adjustments will vary according to each case and each relative or partner will be fully consulted in deciding what action to take. In some cases this may mean making alterations in the reporting arrangements or in varying the avenues for disciplinary and grievance procedures. In other cases more far-reaching action may be necessary. The action taken should not, however, be such as to cause unacceptable or disproportionate disruption to the functioning of the administration of the House. If in the opinion of the Clerk of the Parliaments the action would amount to such a level of disruption, steps which affect the relatives' or partners' own roles and responsibilities will have to be taken. In some cases this will mean that the normal career development of one or other relative or partner will need to be varied. In making any adjustments respect will of course be had to the rights of the relatives or partners themselves.

Secondments

11.12. Staff may apply to undertake a period of short-term secondment to a public or private sector body, or some other scheme, e.g. Prince of Wales Trust, or for long-term secondment to paid posts outside the House. Wherever possible such applications will be given sympathetic consideration in the context of career and skills development, having regard to the needs of the House. Staff wishing to undertake secondments should consult their Head of Office and the Human Resources Office.

Promotion arrangements

Method of promotion

11.13. The final responsibility for promotions rests with the Clerk of the Parliaments or Black Rod. Promotions are generally made on the advice of a promotion board. Promotion boards will normally interview candidates for promotion. Selection for interview will depend upon the requirements of the post and will take account of promotability as assessed in Staff Appraisals.

Publicity

11.14. Vacancies to be filled by promotion will be advertised on the Staff Notice Board or circulated to those in the field for promotion. The notice will say which categories of staff are eligible to apply. Successful and unsuccessful candidates will be individually notified of the outcome.

Appeal procedure

11.15. If a member of staff within the field of consideration is not selected for interview by a promotion board or, if selected for interview, is unsuccessful before the board, he or she may appeal to a promotion appeal board. An appeal against non-selection for interview or against a decision of the promotion board must be submitted to the Clerk Assistant within two days of notification. The Clerk Assistant will be responsible for the arrangements for hearing the appeal. The promotion appeal board will be supplied with all the information made available to the promotion board, and with any written representations made by the member of staff making the appeal. They have discretion to call the member of staff making the appeal for an interview. They will recommend to the Clerk of the Parliaments whether the appeal should be referred back to the original promotion board for further consideration, or be rejected. Reasons for an appeal will include:

(1) proof of some substantial irregularity of procedure;

(2) the emergence of relevant facts which were not within the knowledge of the promotion board; or

(3) the production of evidence that special grounds exist for the re-consideration of the appellant's case.